Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Desire NOLA

Desire NOLA is a not-for-profit corporation organized by a group of young New Orleans area individuals, who happened to be evacuees from Hurricane Katrina’s wrath. While the Greater New Orleans Area finds temporary harbor in other cities across our gracious country, Desire NOLA will be an active organization helping with the rebirth of New Orleans. Our goal is to provide a unifying symbol of hope and desire for the Greater New Orleans Area.

Our mission is to ensure the revitalization of New Orleans and its economy by retaining our temporarily displaced citizens and business, cultivating a strong business community by providing access to necessary information and resources for returning and developing businesses, and by stimulating economic development and generating job growth.

Our mission will be carried out with full emphasis on preserving the unique culture, ambiance, and historical value of the City of New Orleans and surrounding communities, which will benefit us all.

You can participate in the renaissance of New Orleans by making your donation today and proudly wearing your Desire NOLA t-shirt as a sign of support.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Christmas Eve on the Levees

For over a hundred years on Christmas Eve, families and friends gather along the Mississippi River levees and light thousands of bonfires to guide St. Nick down to Bayou Country.

Amidst the fireworks, gumbo, and good cheer these 20 foot plus tall structures, which are constructed by family members over two months rekindle our links to the past and our connections to each other.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get my cousins to come down to the house in Lakeview and pick up some of my massive downed pines. Maybe next year... they'll probably still be there.

Damn Chris...

In the frontier town that is New Orleans these days, we're definately ready to go to war with anybody who either badmouths or undermines us. The heroic efforts of the TRUE New Orleanians who are down here every day, either rebuilding or going to work or simply spending money, will not and can not be sullied by even our own townsfolk who feel they must put us down in order to bring themselves back up.

I want to add one to that though... Baumer Foods. The makers of my personal choice for hot sauce, Crystal, are fleeing the city and taking with them 250 jobs. Since 1923, Crystal Hot Sauce has been manufactured in New Orleans by the Baumer family and is now managed by Alvin Baumer. Besides knowing that I have now switched back to Tobasco Hot Sauce, I basically want to ask Alvin this... Do you think those Sazerac's that you love so much are going to taste as good in Houston or wherever the heck you're running off to?

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

All I want for Christmas...

is well yeah, my FEMA trailer which has still yet to arrive - even after they did a site survey and approved the location over one month ago...

but really what I really want this Christmas is for everyone to sign this online petition asking for Congress to allocate a percentage of Louisiana's offshore oil and gas royalties towards coastal restoration.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Good News From New Orleans - How Odd

I'm a little confused by writing that title, and found myself struggling about what to post as I've rarely had the opportunity to write about positive news from the government - but there has been movement on several fronts in New Orleans.

• Bush has proposed upping the funding to rebuild the levees to higher than Cat 3 levels to $3.1B.

• The House has passed a large spending bill which includes a re-allocation of $29B away from FEMA and towards direct spending throughout the Gulf Coast.

• The Bring Back New Orleans Commission appears to be nearing a consensus on how to determine neighborhood viability in the most devastated areas, and benchmarks on how to proceed with allowing these neighborhoods to exist or to simply turn them into parks and recreation areas.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Now That's a Tell

Nearly everyone affected by Katrina and Rita, from Beaumont to Mobile, has an insurance nightmare story whether it's their own or someone they know, but trust me - if even the former majority leader of the United States Senate, Trent Lott, must sue his insurance company - then these companies are definately screwing people over left and right.

The major issue is flood versus wind driven damage and the insurance companies as a whole are stating that the water damage had nothing to do with the wind, therefore they don't have to cover anything.

There is an argument for this in New Orleans, but once you leave the domain of the levee breaks, in no way can you define a 25 foot wave of water that stayed put for around an hour as having nothing to do with wind.

Lucky for Trent though, his brother-in-law is Dickie Scruggs... you remember him... he's the guy who sued big tobacco and won... actually, that's pretty lucky for everyone on the Gulf Coast.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Must... Not... Look Away... Even Though It Burns

Everyone get ready... New Orleans is about to go through one of the most wrenching property grabs and legal clusterf**ks in the history of the United States, and this along with several other factors may be one of the final nails in the coffin for this city.

The Bring Back New Orleans Commission is working directly with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in order to formulate a plan for the reconstruction of New Orleans. ULI is advocating the turning of several large swaths of neighborhoods into public parks and floodplains, even though many of these neighborhoods have never flooded except during the manmade levee failures of Katrina.

Basically one could walk down any block in New Orleans and pick out any two identical homes on that block, check the tax rolls and discover that the two owners were paying vastly different amounts in property taxes. We're talking huge differentials. Many homes that have been in families for generations were paying zero property taxes because of the $75,000 homestead exemption and had not been properly assessed for decades. While the owner of the other identical home which had recently sold for say $250,000 (the current market value for each of these homes), were paying many thousands of dollars in property tax a year.

So according to ULI's and the Bring Back New Orleans Commission's plan, new owners would actually get closer to market rate payouts for their property, while families who have lived for generations in New Orleans would be reimbursed for around 30% of market value.

Moreover, these generational property owners tend to be families who are on the low income scale as opposed to individuals or families who can afford $250,000 mortgages.

What all of this is leading towards is massive amounts of litigation that will tie up the entire rebuilding and restoration of New Orleans for many, many years.

Take this along with the myriad of other issues before this city from levee rebuilding to lack of electricity and the frustration and time involved in settling all of these issues leads me to believe that unless the Federal Government steps in, which it is apparantly loathe to do or because of ulterior motives, New Orleans will be left to wither.

Now in a tangential theory, with all the gross amounts of litigation about to erupt, the massive new influx of attorneys into New Orleans may stem the flood of out-migration...

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The New Orleans Tea Party

The following is another example of good out-of-the-box thinking that is arising out of the American Government's neglect for her own citizens...

New Orleans Loyalists:

It is time for New Orleans to seize its assets. It is time to demand, by way of river blockades, high percentages of oil and gas revenues resulting from our land and coastline and from the transportation of our resources through OUR section of the Mississippi River, by way of OUR port. It is time to claim Eminent DOMAIN for the section of the Mississippi River which is bordered on both sides by Orleans Parish.

It is time to make the historic Boston Tea Party merely a white glove affair. For the NEW ORLEANS FLOAT(ING) PARTY lets wear boxing gloves instead. NEW ORLEANS existed before it was part of the United States. It can do so again. Gentle Readers, it is time for revolt. And we hold the cards.

I propose that all those in possession of a boat of any kind, a float of any kind, an innovative barge of any kind join me in a blockade of the Mississippi River under the twin spans on Sunday, December 18th. Bring ropes to hook our sails together and anchor to the bridge pilings as one united blockade.

Please sign up for the NEW ORLEANS FLOAT(ing) PARTY.

Daughter of New Orleans

I am certainly not advocating armed revolt by posting this... but heck Key West or the Conch Republic as they are now known, got what it wanted by standing together in a unified voice for all the world to see.

The Meek Shall Not Inherit New Orleans

We are still here. We are still waiting to rebuild. We are still waiting on adjusters. We still have no electricity. We are still waiting on trailers that were promised. We are still waiting on the promised rebuilding of the levees. We are still waiting on Bush to fulfill his promise made in front of the St. Louis Cathedral.

We WILL have Mardi Gras though... and Chris Rose from the Times Picayune put it very succinctly in today's column.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Falling Down... Still Falling Down

President George Bush was quoted today saying, "...the federal government and other levels of the government fell down on the job." by NBC's Brian Williams when asked about the government's preparedness and response to Hurricane Katrina.

Unfortunately, they're still falling down. They are still failing New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The White House also recently stated that they would not federally bail out the New Orleans electric company, Entergy, with a mere 350 million dollars even though they bailed out ConEdison after 9/11 to the tune of 250 million dollars AND they understand that Entergy New Orleans has filed for bankruptcy and will have to raise everyone's electric rates by a whopping 140%.

How does Bush expect New Orleans to stand back on her own two feet economically when it becomes financially imprudent to locate or re-locate a business into this city?

Yet again, this is another example of how New Orleans is being slowly put to death - not by Katrina, but by the government of the United States.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Make Believe... We Must Make Everyone Believe

Driving back into New Orleans today along Earhart Expressway, I was struck by the view from Jefferson Parish into Orleans Parish. In a beautiful cloudless blue sky I could see the highrises of New Orleans' downtown, but off to the north three billows of dark black smoke smoldered reminding me of the warzone that exists through 70% of this city.

Yes, this city still burns to the ground one historic structure at a time. But who could let that spoil a perfect day?

Why should I dwell on the ravages of my city when I can turn up WWOZ and pretend to not notice the unfunctioning traffic lights, the piles of raggedy detritus and refridgerators on the curbside spraypainted with little nuggets like "Rotten to the Corps".

You know what, you can't turn it off... but what we can do down here is make light of it, cruise ahead with our holiday shopping on Magazine St., head over to dinner with friends on Perrier St. and debate with ourselves over whether or not to have Mardi Gras in February.

I personally vote for Mardi Gras. Even if there weren't any formal parades this year, trust me we'd be out there celebrating as hard as ever and by doing so, we let - if not the world know - at least ourselves that we're actually here trying our best to salvage our lives and way of life... and that's not make believe.

Above: Enormous mounds of the remains of New Orleans' urban forest piled high in New Basin Canal Park in Lakeview.

Time Check: Day 105

All I can say to these 'powers' is good luck with that... I ain't going nowhere, and as long as there's me and at least one other person... or at least enough people to fill one Mardi Gras Krewe, this city will still be down here... Hopefully that Krewe will be Muses, in case we have to repopulate from within.

But as Boysie Bollinger writes below, this hurricane story is just one more to add to our long and culturally beautiful song, parts of it a low dirge - but many parts holler celebration.

There's not a working clock in this entire city. This morning I went on my walk and the big clock by St .Patrick's Church on Camp said it was 2:30, as I walked on the Whitney clock said it was 11:15 and by the time I hit the French Quarter a clock there told me quite firmly that it was 6:00 o'clock.

I'm not really surprised at this, New Orleans has always had a problem with time. Time is not linear here, this is a city where people live in two hundred year old houses, have wireless Internet and use 600 year old recipes while singing 60's songs to their newborns. Time is more of a mental game in New Orleans, you can pick the year you liked the best and stay in that year for the rest of your life here and no one says a thing. You can talk about your great great grandparents as if they were still alive and talk about your neighbors as if they were dead, we all understand.

Time marches to it's own drunk drummer here. This morning as I walked into the Quarter on Chartres, a woman ran out of a cafe to greet me, "Hey dahlin" she yelled as she hugged me, "Where ya been?" I looked at her and realized it was one of the exotic dancers from the s maller establishments on Chartres, over the years I'd become friendly with several of the dancers as I would take my morning walk, we'd smile, wave, exchange pleasantries. This morning I realized that even though I had said hello to this woman three times a week for four years, I didn't know her name. I smiled, hugged her back and told her how badly I felt that I never knew her name and she laughed "Dahlin, you know my name, it's Baby!" Time to laugh out loud.

Twenty minutes later as I walked up Royal from Esplanade on my way out of the Quarter, a dark sedan stopped in the street right by the Cathedral and all four doors opened at once. I was twittering with curiosity when the driver hopped out, ran to the other side and escorted a smiling Lindy Boggs out of the car. Before I could stop myself I'd yelled out, "Hey Lindy, good to see ya!" Mrs. Boggs accustomed to such raffish behavior smiled and yelled out "Hey yourself" as she waved, laughed and headed to church, surely thinking it's time to pray for better manners for the likes of me.

We're dealing with a lot of time issues these days, time to meet the insurance specialist, time to call FEMA, time to put out the refrigerator, time to get a new refrigerator, time to decide whether to stay in New Orleans or head elsewhere, time to register the kids for school, time to sell the house, time to buy the house, time to find a job, time to leave a job, time to figure out the rest of your life.

Could we maybe, while dealing with all those time issues take a minute and remember. Remember that there was a time when all of this was different, there was a time when slaves were sold in Napoleon House, a time when Mid City was considered the country, a time when people staged sit in's downtown, a time when there was no McDonalds or Wendy's or even Popeye's, a time when the Quarter burned, a time when people spoke French or Spanish, a time when the Opera House was open, a time when this was all uninhabited, a time when your refrigerator worked, your house was whole, your neighborhood wasn't flooded and your city wasn't defined by a Hurricane.

More than any other city in this country, this is a city defined by the quality of the times people have had here. Maybe it's because it's a port city, maybe it's because of the food, maybe it's because of the heat, but this city remembers everyone who has ever lived, loved and laughed here.People visit us because they can feel the difference as soon as they get here, they can feel how time is honored here, in the time to craft our houses and the time to make a roux. They can feel that the city holds all of our memories, our joys, our sorrows and our triumphs. That any time spent in New Orleans is kept in the breath, air, water and sky of New Orleans.What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in New Orleans changes the city and its people, minute by minute, day by day, year by year so that we can't help but live in the past, present and future.

Time will tell what we will end up looking like, how strong the levees will be, how many houses will be repaired, but we will tell time how strong the people of New Orleans are, how deep our commitments to each other are and that sometimes the best stories are the ones we write for ourselves.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

The Quiet Kiss Of Death

As the evidence mounts that the damage to New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina was in fact human error, that is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers error, an entire and beloved American city and her people are again being neglected. Neglect which is tanamount to future murder.

Someone explain to me how this government can so easily spend 420 billion dollars in Iraq, yet grimaces at spending 14 billion dollars to protect its own citizens as well as a state that produces 25% of its oil and gas and 40% of its seafood?

AS WE NEAR the 100-day mark since Hurricane Katrina hit, it's time we ended our national state of denial and abandon New Orleans for good.

We should call it quits not because New Orleans can't be made relatively safe from hurricanes. It can be. And not because to do so is more trouble than it's worth. It's not. Instead, the hammers and brooms and chain saws should all be put away and the city permanently boarded up because the Bush administration has already given New Orleans a quiet kiss of death.

Although he has encouraged city residents to return home and declared "we will do whatever it takes" to save the city, President Bush last month refused the one thing New Orleans simply cannot live without: a restored network of barrier islands and coastal wetlands.

Katrina destroyed the Big Easy — and future Katrinas will do the same— because 1 million acres of coastal islands and marshland vanished in Louisiana in the last century because of human interference. These land forms served as natural "speed bumps," reducing the lethal surgetide of past hurricanes and making New Orleans habitable in the firstplace. A $14-billion plan to fix this problem — widely viewed as technically sound and supported by environmentalists, oil companies and fishermen alike — has been on the table for years and was pushed forward with greater urgency after Katrina hit. But the Bush administration has turned its back on this plan.

Instead of investing the equivalent of six weeks of spending on the Iraq war or the cost of the Big Dig in Boston, we must now prepare to pay for another, inevitable $200-billion hurricane in Louisiana. Which is why, tragically, we are better off simply cutting our losses and abandoning New Orleans right now.

In the weeks after Katrina, the media portrayed the catastrophe as a matter of failed levees and flawed evacuation plans alone. But these were just horrifying symptoms of a much larger disease. No amount of levee building or stockpiles of bottled water will ever save New Orleans until the barrier shoreline is restored.

Just since World War II, an area the size of Rhode Island has become submerged between New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, most of it marshland. Every 2.7 miles of marshland reduces a hurricane surge tide by a foot, dispersing the storm's power. Simply put, had Katrina struck in 1945 instead of 2005, the surge that reached New Orleans would have been as much as 5 to 10 feet lower than it was.

These marshes, as well as the barrier islands, were created by the sediment-rich floodwaters of the Mississippi River and deposited over thousands of years. But modern levees have prevented this natural flooding, and the existing wetlands, starved for new sediments and nutrients, have eroded and subsided and washed away. Every 10 months, even without hurricanes, an area of Louisiana land equal to Manhattan turns to water. That's 50 acres a day, a football field every 30 minutes.

The grand plan to change all this, commonly known as the Coast 2050 plan, would use massive pipelines and pumps along with surgically designed canals to guide a portion of the river's sediment-thick water back toward the coastal buffer zone without destroying existing infrastructure or communities. This would rebuild hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands over time and reconstruct entire barrier islands in as little as 12 months. The National Academy of Sciences recently confirmed the soundness of the approach and urged quick action.

Yet the White House in effect killed the plan by authorizing a shockingly small $250 million out of the $14 billion requested in the spending package sent to Congress. Tens of billions of dollars have been authorized to treat the symptoms — broken levees, insufficient emergency resources, destroyed roads and bridges. But next to nothing for the disappearing land that ushered the ocean into the city to begin with.

How could this administration, found totally unprepared for this disastrous hurricane, not see the obvious action needed to prevent the next Katrina? My theory is that Bush hears "wetlands" and retreats to a blind, ideological aversion to all things "environmental."

"Either they don't get it or they just don't care," said Mark Davis, director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. "But the results are the same: more disaster."

So stop the repairs. Close the few businesses that have reopened. Leave the levees in their tattered state and get out. Right now. It's utterly unsafe to live there.

As someone who dearly loves New Orleans, it pains me immeasurably to call for this retreat. I mean what I say. Shut the city down. To encourage people to return to New Orleans, as Bush is doing, without funding the only plan that can save the city from the next Katrina is to commit an act of mass homicide.

Anyone who doesn't like this news — farmers who export grain through the port of New Orleans, New Englanders who heat their homes with natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico, cultural enthusiasts who like their gumbo in the French Quarter — should direct their comments straight to the White House.

Sure you can change the channel or click on another website and turn it off... we can't. We're living it every day.

Some of our more creative out-of-the-box thinkers down here are coming up with great ideas to force America to listen to our screams and plight. One of the better ones yet is for the state of Louisiana to significantly raise taxes on EVERY gallon of gas or meter of natural gas produced and refined in this state.

I'm pretty sure if everyone's gasoline prices suddenly spiked to the tune of say 50 cents a gallon, America would wake up out of that Katrina Fatigue pretty quickly.

And why shouldn't we do this? Everyone from George Bush to Rush Limbaugh has been telling us to take care of ourselves... maybe we'll do just that.

Help Flood Washington!

Click on the following link in order to demand Congress and President Bush follow through on their pledge to re-build the levee system in order to adequately protect the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana.

Orleans Levee Board Petition

The following link goes to the Citizens For 1 Greater New Orleans where they have a online petition demanding one southeast Louisiana levee board and the vigorous pursuit of all corruption on the previous levee board.

The petition can be signed by all, but more credence is given to Louisiana residents and exiles.